Dolly on display

Dolly, the world's first mammal cloned from an adult cell, has been mounted on a plinth and put on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, not far from the Roslin Institute where she was created.

Dolly was put down two months ago because of a progressive lung disease. She was six years old and the disease was more common among older sheep. She also became arthritic at a young age, both illnesses leading to speculation that the cloning process may cause premature ageing. She was skinned when she died and her fleece was preserved. After a post-mortem, her body was released to the preservation team, who created a fibreglass model of her, based on her own bone and muscle structure, and covered it with her real skin.

Professor Ian Wilmut, leader of the team of Roslin Institute scientists responsible for Dolly's creation in 1996, said he was glad to see her exhibited; 'it's not so many weeks ago since she was alive and in the barn but we're very proud that she is in here. She was a very friendly face of science', he said. The results of Dolly's post-mortem are expected soon.

Meanwhile, PPL Therapeutics, the commercial arm of the Roslin Institute, has announced the finalisation of the sale of its cloning division. It is to be sold to a company called Regenecor Holdings, part of a joint venture which includes the medical centre of Pittsburgh University, US. Having also shut down the Scotland based stem cell programme last September, PPL will now concentrate on the core proteins side of the business. Chief Executive Geoff Cook said 'we have achieved an important milestone in the strategy put in place by PPL's new management team to focus the business on the development of protein based therapeutics'.